Guests enjoy meals in a continental atmosphere. Elegant dining rooms are staffed with attentive servers and food is expertly prepared under the supervision of Mark Hanna, an internationally known natural food chef who has cooked at yoga retreats, meditation centers, and macrobiotic and vegan conferences around the world. Head chef since Holistic Holiday at Sea’s debut in 2004, Hanna has designed the menu to feature dishes that are nutritious, delicious, and 100% vegan.

Options for Everyone

Chef Mark Hanna

Cruise goers love that there are so many option to fit their dietary needs. “Over the years we’ve found that to happily include everybody, there needs to be options,” says Hanna. “We offer gluten-free and oil-free options in every case when the dish includes oil or gluten.” Please inform us of your dietary needs and we’ll do our best to accommodate you. The ship’s menu is also available on request.

For lunch and dinner, four-course meals (plus dessert) await you. Menus are often themed and work with innovative twists on traditional styles of cooking, such as Italian and Caribbean. Hanna shares, “My favorite menu over the last few years is the Thai-themed meal including Pad Thai—a tempeh dish, peanut sauce, etc. It’s a little bit spicy.” If you’re looking for a more informal, faster meal, buffet options are available for breakfast and lunch.

Desserts are sugar and dairy free and prepared by pastry chefs. The key lime pie and chocolate cake are among guests’ favorites. The menu changes each year, says Hanna, as people’s tastes change and there are always new trends to keep up with. Themes may be mixed and matched so that whole grains, vegan proteins, cooked and raw greens, and vegetables can be evenly incorporated over the course of the week.

Macrobiotic foods (such as seaweed, umeboshi, tamari, and miso) are also used in several dishes, and many macrobiotic principles are applied in the preparation, says Hanna.

Collaborations in the Kitchen

Chef Mark Reinfeld (Photo by Megan Sorel)

This year, Mark Reinfeld joins the team as a menu and recipe consultant. “I am excited to be sharing some of my Vegan Fusion recipes with the guests of the Holistic Holiday at Sea,” he says. Reinfeld is an award-winning chef and the author of seven books, including the best-selling 30 Minute Vegan series and his latest, Healing the Vegan Way. He has more than 20 years of experience preparing creative vegan and raw food cuisine.

One of the hopes of Holistic Holiday at Sea is that guests can learn new techniques to promote a healthier lifestyle. Reinfeld will be teaching a discussion and Q&A session titled “Food Activism: Bridging the Gap Between Nutritional Knowledge and Life-Changing Action.”

In his session, Reinfeld says he will “discuss the importance of creating plant-based food that tastes amazing, with tips and tricks on how to create world-class cuisine to share with others.”

He will also present a template-recipe format that “allows you to break out of the recipe trap to create hundreds of variations of recipes.”

The cabbage in this light, bright-colored, fiber-rich salad is pressed in the traditional Japanese manner. It is a perfect accompaniment to any meal.

Yields 6 to 8 servings

2 cups shredded red cabbage

2 teaspoons umeboshi paste

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 ½ cups corn kernels

Pinch sea salt

5 cups finely chopped kale

1 cup julienne-cut carrots

1 cup red radishes, cut into thin half moons

1 cup julienne-cut daikon

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Vegetable salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

To prepare:

Press the cabbage with the umeboshi paste and vinegar for 1 hour.

While the cabbage is pressing, fill a 4-quart pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add the corn and quickly blanch for a minute or two. Remove the corn with a slotted spoon and place in a large salad bowl.

Add a pinch of salt to the same water, then add the kale and blanch for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and spread on a tray to cool.

Add the cooked kale to the corn, along with the carrots, radishes, daikon, pressed cabbage, olive oil, and lemon juice. Toss the ingredients, add salt and pepper, and toss again before serving.